Psalm 116
King James Version
116 I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.
8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:
11 I said in my haste, All men are liars.
12 What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?
13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.
14 I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
16 O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people.
19 In the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord.
Psalm 116
New English Translation
Psalm 116[a]
116 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy,[b]
2 and listened to me.[c]
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help.[d]
3 The ropes of death tightened around me,[e]
the snares[f] of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted[g] with trouble and sorrow.
4 I called on the name of the Lord,
“Please, Lord, rescue my life!”
5 The Lord is merciful and fair;
our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord protects[h] the untrained;[i]
I was in serious trouble[j] and he delivered me.
7 Rest once more, my soul,[k]
for the Lord has vindicated you.[l]
8 Yes,[m] Lord,[n] you rescued my life from death,
kept my eyes from tears
and my feet from stumbling.
9 I will serve[o] the Lord
in the land[p] of the living.
10 I had faith when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”
11 I rashly declared,[q]
“All men are liars.”
12 How can I repay the Lord
for all his acts of kindness to me?
13 I will celebrate my deliverance,[r]
and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people.
15 The Lord values
the lives of his faithful followers.[s]
16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your female servant.[t]
You saved me from death.[u]
17 I will present a thank offering to you,
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people,
19 in the courts of the Lord’s temple,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
Footnotes
- Psalm 116:1 sn Psalm 116. The psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him from a life threatening crisis and promises to tell the entire covenant community what God has done for him.
- Psalm 116:1 tn Heb “I love because the Lord heard my voice, my pleas.” It is possible that “the Lord” originally appeared directly after “I love” and was later accidentally misplaced. The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls that God heard his cry for help (note the perfect in v. 2a and the narrative in vv. 3-4).
- Psalm 116:2 tn Heb “because he turned his ear to me.”
- Psalm 116:2 tn Heb “and in my days I will cry out.”
- Psalm 116:3 tn Heb “surrounded me.”
- Psalm 116:3 tn The Hebrew noun מֵצַר (metsar, “straits; distress”) occurs only here, Ps 118:5 and Lam 1:3. If retained, it refers to Sheol as a place where one is confined or severely restricted (cf. BDB 865 s.v. מֵצַר, “the straits of Sheol”; NIV “the anguish of the grave”; NRSV “the pangs of Sheol”). However, HALOT 624 s.v. מֵצַר suggests an emendation to מְצָדֵי (metsade, “snares of”), a rare noun attested in Job 19:6 and Eccl 7:26. This proposal, which is reflected in the translation, produces better parallelism with “ropes” in the preceding line.
- Psalm 116:3 tn The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls the crisis from which the Lord delivered him.
- Psalm 116:6 tn Heb “guards.” The active participle indicates this is a characteristic of the Lord.
- Psalm 116:6 tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly. See Ps 19:7.
- Psalm 116:6 tn Heb “I was low.”
- Psalm 116:7 tn Heb “return, my soul, to your place of rest.”
- Psalm 116:7 tn The Hebrew idiom גָּמַל עַל (gamal ʿal) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense (cf. Ps 13:5).
- Psalm 116:8 tn Or “for.”
- Psalm 116:8 tn “Lord” is supplied here in the translation for clarification.
- Psalm 116:9 tn Heb “walk before” (see Ps 56:13). On the meaning of the Hebrew idiom, see the notes at 2 Kgs 20:3/Isa 38:3.
- Psalm 116:9 tn Heb “lands, regions.”
- Psalm 116:11 tn Heb “I said in my haste.”
- Psalm 116:13 tn Heb “a cup of deliverance I will lift up.” Perhaps this alludes to a drink offering the psalmist will present as he thanks the Lord for his deliverance. See v. 17.
- Psalm 116:15 tn Heb “precious in the eyes of the Lord [is] the death of his godly ones.” The point is not that God delights in or finds satisfaction in the death of his followers! The psalmist, who has been delivered from death, affirms that the life-threatening experiences of God’s followers get God’s attention, just as a precious or rare object would attract someone’s eye. See Ps 72:14 for a similar expression of this belief.
- Psalm 116:16 tn Heb “I am your servant, the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 86:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). It may used metaphorically and idiomatically to emphasize the psalmist’s humility before the Lord and his status as the Lord’s servant. Or it may be a reference to the psalmist’s own mother who also was a servant of the Lord.
- Psalm 116:16 tn Heb “you have loosed my bonds.” In this context the imagery refers to deliverance from death (see v. 3).
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